OVERLOOKED CONCERT FILM: THE T.A.M.I. SHOW (1964)

 The T.A.M.I. Show was (IMHO) one of the greatest concert films ever made.  T.A.M.I stood for  either "Teenage Awards Music International" or Teen Age Music International" -- take your pick, the publicists couldn't make up their minds.  The concert featured popular rock and roll and rhythm and blues acts from both the United States and England.  The advertising tagline was, "THE EXCITMENT, ENTERTAINMENT AND MUSIC OF TEENAGE AMERICA!" -- and that it was.  The concert was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964.  Free tickets were given to high school students of the area.  Among those in the audience were a future film director John Landis and future teenage heartthrob David Cassidy, both seventeen.  Among the go-go dancers on the stage was a young Teri Garr.

The concert film was produced by Lee Savin and directed by Steve Binder (who also directed Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, Diana Ross Live in Central Park, and -- God help us! -- the Star Wars Holiday Special).  The film was released on November 24, 1964.  In 2006, the film was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for its "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significance.

The show was emceed by Jan and Dean, who performed the original theme song "(Here They Come) From All Over the World," whose lyrics mistakenly had the Rolling Stones originating from Liverpool.

The acts:

• Jan and Dean (Jan Berry & Dean Torrence) - "(Here They Come) From All Over the World" -- sung over the credits
• Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Goode" and Maybelline"
• Gerry and the Pacemakers (Gerry Marsden, Les Maguire, Les Chadwick, & Freddie Marsden) - "Maybelline," "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," and "It's Gonna  Be Alright"
• Chuck Berry - "Sweet Little Sixteen"
• Gerry and the Pacemakers - "How Do You Do It?"
• Chuck Berry - "Nadine"
• Gerry and the Pacemakers - "I Like It"
• (Smokey Robinson and) The Miracles (Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Pete Moore, & Marv Tarplin -- a fourth member, Robinson's wife, Claudette, had stopped touring three months earlier because of health reasons, although she remained in the group for recording sessions) - "That's What Love Is Made Of," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," and "Mickey's Monkey"
• Marvin Gaye (backed up  by The Blossoms -- Fanita James, Darlene Love, & Jean King) - "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," Pride and Joy, "Can I Get a Witness," and "Hitch Hike"
• Leslie Gore - "Maybe I Know," "You Don't Own Me," "Hey Now, "It's My Party," & "Judy's Turn to Cry"
• Jan and Dean - "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," & "Sidewalk Surfin' "
• The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, & Dennis Wilson) - "Surfin' USA," "I Get Around," "Surfer Girl," & "Dance, Dance, Dance"
• Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas (Mike Maxfield, Mick Green, Robin MacDonald, & Tony Mansfield) - "Little Children," "Bad to Me," "I'll Keep You Satisfied," & "From a Window"
• The Supremes (Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, & Mary Wilson) - "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," "Run, Run, Run," "Baby Love," & "Where Did Our Love Go"
• The Barbarians (Jerry Causi, Ronnie Enos, Bruce Benson, & Victor "Moulty" Moulton -- remember Moulty? the drummer with a prosthetic left hand?  (He lost in an explosion when he was fourteen.) - "Hey Little Bird"
• James Brown and The Famous Flames (Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth, & Bobby Bennett) - "Out of Sight," "Prisoner of Love," "Please, Please, Please," & "Night Train" 
• The Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, & Charlie Watts) - "Around and Around," "Off the Hook," "Time Is on My Side," "It's All Over Now," "I'm Alright," & "Let's Get Together"

Wow.  Just wow.

Keith Richards has said that following James Brown -- who, after all, was the hardest working man in show business -- was the worst mistake of their careers, because it was almost impossible to follow Brown's explosive performance.  For his part, Brown resented having to appear before the Stones; rather than closing out the show.  Brown decided not to rehearse his set, so no one had any knowledge of what he would be singing.  Brown vowed to make the Stones regret they had ever come to America and he pulled out every stop.  Jagger, however, knew that he had to create a high-energy set to follow Brown, and he did -- to bring a historic close to a historic concert.

Billed as the first T.A.M.I. Show, there was never a second.

For all you geezers out there, do you remember watching this?  What were your favorite songs?  your favorite group?

And for all you whippersnappers out there who were too young to have seen The T.A.M.I. Show, here's your chance to see what real music  was like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnFbkV17O08